Magnetic track brake system



July 6, 1937. T. H. SCHOEPF ET AL MAGNETIC TRACK BRAKE SYSTEM Original Filed Feb. 3, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5 R V m M m? W 35 I WT. A E. RM 0 Mm V July 6, 1937. T. H. SCHOEPF ET AL 2,085,873

MAGNETIC TRACK BRAKE SYSTEM Original Filed Feb. 3, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNE Y5 Patented July 6, 193? UNHTED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAGNETIC TRACK BRAKE SYSTEM a corporation of Ohio Original application February 3,

1936, Serial No.

62,126. Divided and this application October 29, 1936, Serial No. 108,242

9 Claims.

Our invention relates to magnetic brakes.

It is an object of this invention to provide means whereby to prevent damage and/or destruction of the coils of magnetic brakes, due to the generation of excessive heat therein.

It is an object of this invention to provide means whereby to prevent damage to the coils due to energization thereof, after the braking operation has been performed by the brakes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means responsive to the heat of the brake shoe coils, whereby to interrupt the energizing circuit therefor when a predetermined temperature is reached.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such means which will be responsive both to the heat generated by the energization of the coils and also responsive to the heat generated therein by the friction between the brake shoe and the rail during the braking operation.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such means whereby the energizing circuit interrupting means is actuated by the power in the brake energizing circuit.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means whereby tov prevent energization of the brake shoe coils in a magnetic braking system after the braking operation has been completed, and the vehicle to which the brakes are attached has come to rest whereby to provide utmost power economy and long life of the brake shoe.

This application is a division of our application Serial No. 62,126, filed February 3, 1936.

These and other objects and advantages will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, in which is described and shown an illustrative embodiment of this invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of typical structure which may be used in the practice of our invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing a magnetic brake shoe and a form of supporting and actuating means therefor;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary diagrammatic View showing the solenoid armature of the. relay shown in Figure l, equipped with dashpot control means;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1, but illustrating the substitution of a relay constructed on the hot wire principle for the relay illustrated in Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view illustrating the substitution, for the relays of Figures 1 and 3, of a relay constructed on the principle of an electrodynamometer.

Referring to the drawings in detail, as shown in Figure 2, the brake shoe which is generally designated I is preferably supported and actuated by the rod 2 having thereon a piston 3 which is supported for reciprocation in the cylinder 4 and normally urged upwardly therein by the spring 5 and adapted to be. operated by the force of air introduced through inlet 6 into the cylinder to oppose and overbalance the force of the spring 5.

By this means, the brake shoe may be urged downwardly against the rail 1 to perform the braking function. In the form of brake apparatus, in which it is preferred to apply the principles of our invention, the brake shoe I is placed closely adjacent the rail by the admission of air, as above described, to the cylinder 4. The coils of the brake shoe are then energized. When the energizing circuit is interrupted, the coil will be de-energized and the shoe I will be separated from the rail 1.

The brake shoe 1 is provided with a core 8 and an energizing coil '9, one pole of which coil is connected by means of the line ID to the ground, II, while the other pole of the coil 9 is connected by means of the. line 62 to the terminal I3 of a shunt, generally designated I4. The shunt I4 has the opposite terminal I5 thereof connected by means of the line It to the contact I1. The contact I1 is connected to a butt contact 18 which is adapted to cooperate with a second butt contact I9 which is connected to a blow-out coil 20. The blow-out 20 is connected to the contact 2I. The contact 2! is connected by means of the line 22 to the trolley 23. The shunt I4 is provided with intermediate terminals 24 and 25 respectively. The intermediate terminal 24. is connected by means of wire 26 to one terminal of the solenoid coil 21. The opposite terminal of the solenoid coil 21 is connected by means of wire 28 to. the intermediate terminal 25 of the shunt I4.

The solenoid coil 21 is a part of the relay, generally designated 29. The solenoid coil 21 cooperates with the solenoid armature 30 which is provided at its lower end with a switch blade or disk 31. The relay 29 also includes a pair of terminals 32 and 33 respectively. When the solenoid coil 21 of the relay 29 is energized, the switch blade or disk SI is adapted to complete a circuit between the terminals 32 and 33. Terminal 32 is connected by means of wire 34 with one terminal of the solenoid coil 35.

The opposite-terminal of the solenoid coil 35 is connected by means of wire 36 to one terminal of the power source 31 which has its opposite terminal connected by means of wire 38 to the terminal 33 of the relay 29. The power source 3'! may comprise a storage battery or any other desired source of electrical power. The solenoid coil 35 comprises a part of the power switch device, generally designated 39. The solenoid coil has associated therewith a solenoid armature 40, to the lower end of which is pivotally connected a switch arm ii. The switch arm 4| is pivotally supported at 42 and has the abovedescribed butt contact |3 attached to the end thereof.

When the power switch device 39 is energized by energization of the solenoid coil 35, which occurs when the circuit between terminals 32 and 33 of the relay 29 is closed by the switch plate or disk 3|, the armature 43 of the power switch device is drawn upwardly whereby to swing the switch arm 4| upwardly in counterclockwise direction and separate the butt contacts l8 and I9.

It will thus be seen that the structure of this invention comprises broadly a shunt |4 connected in the brake shoe magnet energizing circuit, which shunt, in combination with the relay 29 and power switch device 39, would interrupt the current flow in the energizing circuit extending from the trolley 23 to the coil 9 of the brake shoe I, the coil 9 being connected by means of the line ill to the ground Operation In the normal operating position of the parts,

" which is shown in Figure l, the solenoid coils 21 through blow-out coil 23 to butt contact |9 which is engaged with butt contact I8. The path continues from butt contact |8 to contact I! and thence through line it to terminal I5 of the shunt l4, thence through shunt M to terminal I 3 of the shunt i4. From the terminal l3, the circuit continues through line |2 to one terminal of the brake shoe magnet coil 9, thence through the coil 9 to the opposite terminal and thence through line H] to ground Under certain conditions which will be hereinafter pointed out, the solenoid 21 of the relay 29 is energized, whereby the armature 39 is drawn upwardly to place the switch blade or disk 3| in engagement with the terminals 32 and 33.

This completes the circuit from terminal 33 through wire 38 to power source 31 and thence through wire 36 to and through solenoid coil 35, through wire 34 to terminal 32 and through switch blade or disk 3| to terminal 33. This energizes the solenoid coil 35 of the power switch device 39.

Upon energization of the solenoid 35 of the power switch device 39, the armature 43 is drawn upwardly whereby to swing the switch arm 4| upwardly in counterclockwise direction and remove the butt contact Hi from engagement with the butt contact if! and thus open the above described circuit from the trolley 23 to the coil 9 of the brake shoe The opening, of the energizing circuit for the brake shoe magnet coil 9 prevents damage or destruction thereof due to overheating under operation after the vehicle, to which the brake shoes are attached, has been brought to a stop. The temperature of the magnet coils will, at that time, be considerable due to the power consumed therein in the energization of the magnets and also due to the heat of friction which is conducted to the coils.

The shunt I4 is preferably to be composed of a suitable material, so that the concrete ohmic resistance between the intermediate terminals 24 and 25 thereof may be predetermined from the formula:

Rt is ohmic resistance at any temperature, t degrees. R1 is ohmic resistance at any temperature, t1 degrees. on is temperature coefficient of resistance over the limited range encountered in the practice of the principles of this invention.

With the above rule, the relay 29 may be selected or designed to have suitable operative characteristics to effect the opening of the energizing circuit by separation of the butt contacts I9 and |9 through operation of the power switch device 39, as pointed out above. The relay 29 may have characteristics suitable to enable it to function and effect said separation of the butt contacts l8 and 9 after a predetermined lapse of time (Figure 3), instantaneously upon the flow of current of predetermined value in shunt l4, upon the temperature of the resistance between terminals l3 and I5 attaining a predetermined value (Figure 4), or under any other conditions which may be desired.

Adjustment of the various mechanisms and variation with any wide degree is contemplated and particularly changes in the nature of, and

operative characteristics of, the solenoids, the structure described and illustrated being intended as illustrative and in no wise limiting.

The relay 29 may, for instance, be constructed on the principle of a known electro-dynamometer, wherein the turning effect exerted on the moving coil varies as the square of the current in the energizing circuit (see Figure 5); and, since the heat generated in the magnetic coil also varies as the square of the current, this device is particularly adaptable to the inventive concept herein described, and we also contemplate the use of relays constructed on the known hot wire principle (see Figure 4), which are particularly suited to and readily adapted for use in our invention.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the solenoid armature 30 may be equipped with manually adjustable dashpot means 30a, by means of which the engagement of the switch plate 3| with the contacts 32 and 33 will be delayed for a predetermined time, which time depends upon the manual adjustment of the dashpot means 39a.

As shown in Figure 4, the relay 29 is constructed on the hot wire principle, the wire 26 being connected to the terminal 43 and the wire 23 being connected to the terminal 44, between which contacts is interposed the wire 45. The wire 38 is connected to the contact 46, while the wire 34 is connected to the terminal 47. Attached to the intermediate portion of the wire 45 is a non-conducting cord member 48 which is also connected to the tension spring 49. The non-conducting cord member 48 extends over the pivotally mounted drum member 5|] which has rigidly secured thereto the contact arm member 5|. One end of the contact arm member 5| is adapted to swing in an arc to and from the con-- tact 46, while the other end of the member 5| is connected by the wire 52 to the terminal 47. The wire 45, upon expanding, will permit the spring 39 to draw the non-conducting tension member 48 downwardly whereby to rotate the member 50 and swing the member 5| clockwise, as seen in Figure 4; and, when the wire 45 becomes sufiiciently heated, the movement will be sufficiently great to engage the member 5| with the contact 45 and thus complete a circuit between terminal 4'! and contact 48 to complete the energizing circuit for the solenoid whereby to cause the butt contacts l8 and [9 to be separated. The expansion of the wire 45 under heat may be accomplished either through the heating effect of current passing therethrough, or by mechanical transference of heat from the coil of the shunt 14 to the wire 45 which is interposed between the wires 26 and 28 leading from the terminals 13 and I5 of the shunt l4.

The character of the wire 45 will determine which of the above theories of operation apply to the relay 29, as illustrated in Figure l. The characteristics of the wire 45 may be so chosen that the above operation of the relay 29 to complate the energizing circuit for the solenoid 35 will occur after a predetermined time interval and the interval of time elapsing between initial flow of current through the wire 45 and operation of the relay 29 may be proportional to the value of current passing through the wire 45.

Figure 5 illustrates a preferred construction for the relay 29, in which the relay is constructed on the principle of a known electrodynamometer, wherein the turning efiect exerted on the moving coil varies as the square of the current in the energizing circuit. As shown in Figure 5, the wire 34 is connected to the terminal 53, while the wire 38 is connected to the contact 54. The

2 moving coil 55 is pivotally supported at one end by the mercury cup 56 and at the other end by the mercury cup 51 which is spaced from and aligned with the mercury cup 56. The central loop portion of the moving coil 55 is provided with a biasing spring 58 which constantly urges it in clockwise direction (as seen in Figure 5) about the axis which extends through the aligned mercury cups 55 and 51.

At one side of the biasing spring 58, the central loop portion of the moving coil 55 is provided with a contact arm 59 which is electrically connected by means of wire 60 with the terminal 53, which terminal is, as above described, connected to the wire 34. The terminal l3 of the shunt I4 is connected by means of wire 26 with the mercury cup 51, while the mercury cup 55 is electrically connected by the wire 6| to the stationary coil 62. The opposite end of the stationary coil 62 is connected by the wire 28 to the terminal i5 of the shunt 14.

Due to the electrical connection provided by wire 6| and mercury cup 56 between the ends of stationary coil 62 and moving coil 55, the same current travels through each. However, due to the disposition of the stationary coil 62 within the moving coil 55, and the angularity therebetween, the turning force existing therebetween depends upon the current value in the stationary coil 62 and also the current value in the moving coil 55. Therefore, the turning force exerted upon the moving coil 55 is proportional to the square of the current traveling through the relay. The biasing spring 58 normally causes the contact arm 59 to be disengaged from the contact 54, whereby the energizing circuit for the solenoid 35 is interrupted. Upon the flow of current of sufficient value through the relay, sufficient turning force will be generated to overcome the force of the biasing spring 58, whereby to cause the moving coil 55 to pivot in counterclockwise direction, as seen in Figure 5, and place the contact arm 59 in engagement with the contact 54, whereby to complete the energizing circuit for the solenoid 35.

It will be understood that the above described structure is illustrative and in no wise limiting, and that the structure which may be used in the practice of our invention is susceptible of variation within wide limits and that we desire to comprehend within our invention such modifications as may be necessary to adapt it to varying conditions and uses and which may be embraced within the claims and the scope of our invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a magnetic track brake system including a brake shoe having a core, a coil and an energizing circuit therefor; a shunt in said circuit, a relay adapted to be operated thereby, a power switch in said energizing circuit adapted to be opened by said relay, said shunt being adapted, upon the flow of current of predetermined value therethrough, to cause instantaneous operation of said power switch through energization of said relay, to open said energizing circuit, whereby to prevent overheating of said brake shoe.

2. In a magnetic track brake system including a brake shoe having a coil and an energizing circuit therefor, a shunt in said circuit, a relay adapted to be operated thereby, a power switch in said energizing circuit adapted to be opened by energization of said relay, said shunt being adapted upon the flow of current of a predetermined value therethrough to cause instantaneous operation of said power switch, through energization of said relay, to open the energizing circuit, whereby to prevent overheating of said brake coil.

3. In a magnetic track brake system including a brake shoe having a coil and an energizing circuit therefor, a shunt in said circuit, a relay adapted to be operated thereby, and a power switch operated by said relay, said relay being adapted, upon flow of current of predetermined value, to cause said power switch to open after a predetermined interval, whereby to arrest the energization of said brake shoe coil and prevent overheating thereof.

4. In a magnetic track brake system including a brake shoe having a coil and an energizing circuit therefor and means in said circuit adapted to limit the time of energization of the brake coil whereby to prevent overheating of said coil, said means comprising a shunt, a relay adapted to be energized by said shunt and upon energization, to operate, after a lapse of time, to cause a power switch to open, said power switch, upon energization, being adapted to interrupt said energizing circuit and prevent overheating of said brake shoe coil.

5. In a mechanism for arresting the energiza" tion of a magnetic track brake coil by interrupting the energizing circuit thereof, a shunt connected in said energizing circuit, a relay adapted to be energized by said shunt, and means adapted to be made operable upon energization of said relay to interrupt the energizing circuit of the track brake coil.

6. In a magnetic track brake system including a brake shoe having a coil and an energizing circuit therefor, a power switch adapted when energized to interrupt said energizing circuit, and means for energizing said power switch including a shunt adapted upon the flow therethrough of current of predetermined value to cause instantaneous energization of said power switch to open said brake shoe energizing circuit.

'7. In a magnetic track brake system including a brake shoe having a coil and an energizing circuit therefor, a power switch adapted when energized to interrupt said energizing circuit, and means for energizing said power switch including a shunt adapted upon the flow therethrough of current of predetermined value to cause energization of said power switch to open said brake shoe energizing circuit after a predetermined interval.

8. In a magnetic track brake system including a brake shoe having a coil, an energizing circuit therefor, and means including a relay in said circuit adapted to limit the energization of said coil, said relay being constructed on the principle of an electrodynamometer wherein the turning effect on the moving coil varies as the square of the current.

9. In a magnetic track brake system including a brake shoe having a coil, an energizing circuit therefor, and means including a relay in said circuit adapted to limit the energization of said coil, said relay being constructed on the principle of an electro-dynamometer whereby the energizing circuit will be interrupted before the brake shoe coil becomes dangerously hot.

THEODORE H. SCHOEPF.

DAVID M. RITCHIE.

DISCLAIMER 2,085,873.The0d01"e H. Schoepf and David M. Ritchie, Cincmnati, Ohio. MAGNETIC TRACK BRAKE SYsTEM. Patent dated July 6, 1937. Disclaimer filed October 21, 1939, by the assignee, The Westinghouse Air BTGZCG Company.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 3, 4, 5, and 7 01' said patent,

[Ofieial Gazette November 14, 1989.]

DISCLAIMER 2,085,873.The0d07"e H. Schoepf and David M. Ritchie, Cincinnati, Ohio. MAGNETIC TRACK BRAKE SYSTEM. Patent dated July 6, 1937. Disclaimer filed October 21, 1939, by the assignee, The Westinghouse Ail' Brake Company.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 3, 4, 5, and 7 of said patent,

[Ofieial Gazette November 14, 1.939.] 

